Jessica,
 
I would be lying if I told you your beloved ferret would never get sick,
but that wouldn't be true.  But I could no more predict the outcome of
your ferret's health than I could of your own.  Think of ferret illness
in the same way as human health.  Prevention is the best cure.
 
You already know that you are playing with fire if you play with ferrets
in pet stores, from breeders and so on, where you have no concrete proof
of their present health condition.  You also know that feeding a high
quality, ferret specific diet, will do wonders for your own fuzzy.  You
also know that treats are just treats and that they should never replace
a meal or be used as a substitute for their real food.  You also know
that exercise is key and that ferrets require a great deal of time out of
their cage for running about, climbing and so on, so that their bones and
muscles develop properly, and increases their immune system.  You know
that regular visits to the vet are crucial for keeping your ferret in tip
top shape, and you also know that you need to do a full body check each
and every day to detect more easily any bodily changes that may occur so
that you can help your vet treat your pet more efficiently and
effectively.  And, you are a reader of the FML.
 
Understand that there are over 3000 members to this list and that only a
handful post at any time.  Sure there will be posts on sick ferrets,
because these people want to know if there is something they can do for
their little guys.  Some members do not have access to a ferret
knowledgeable vet.  Some people have to travel quite a ways to find one
and need some form of knowledge and support to get them through a day.
Although the list never replaces proper veterinary care, the list is a
way for people to share with one another and to learn as well.
 
There are some illnesses that there is nothing you can do to prevent them
from happening, but there are quite a few that you can.  Sick ferrets are
more talked about because these are the ones that are dropped off at
shelters, and abandoned by the very people that honored to love and care
for them.  The shelters want to make others aware of the true nature of
responsibility should anyone want to get a ferret, and so they post their
stores as well.
 
There are happy stories as well, and you will hear about them.  In my
home, we have only two sick ferrets out of 16... one has a cancer of the
mouth (she's 11) and the other has cancer of the skin (he's 9+).  Cancer
is a disease that has causes outside of our control.  The longer lived
the ferret, the more likely they will develop cancer.  Will cancer hit
the young ones?  Yes, it can.
 
The long and short of it is, do what you can do in your power to keep your
ferret healthy, and the chances of him or her getting sick will be greatly
reduced.
 
betty and her blur o'fur
for the love of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 3723]